The USB-C spec is under the control of the USB 3.0 Promoter Group. The USB-C adapter format avoids just these kinds of roadblocks. It also has licensing rules that deterred some manufacturers. Thunderbolt was essentially too expensive to implement on inexpensive devices. But they don’t work with the iPad either, and ports-wise, this MacBook is a lot closer to an iPad than a Mac Pro. Not one of these Thunderbolt devices works with the new MacBook. It’s got one correct orientation, and it can’t easily be used to power other devices via a single port. But you can only shrink a mini-DisplayPort connector used for Thunderbolt so far. Apple may eat a hunk of the profit in the PC market, but for unit volume among all connection types, USB is orders of magnitude higher.Īpple didn’t disregard progress on USB, adding USB 3 ports in Mac models that started shipping in 2012. The rest of the industry has focused efforts on USB 3. While it’s available in computers beyond Macs and in peripherals from many companies, it’s never become pervasive. (Remember terminators? Self-termination? Numbering devices? Running out of numbers?)īut Thunderbolt stalled. SCSI was fussy as all get out, despite its relatively high speed. ADB was slow, required daisy-chaining, and could be finicky. The bump from Apple Desktop Bus (ADB, Apple’s original serial peripheral standard for keyboards) and SCSI (for hard drives and scanners, among other uses) to USB 1.1 was a big one in the first iMac circa 1998. The joy flows from improvements in performance and flexibility, and simplicity in making connections. The pain comes from having to purchase new adapters and figure out the limitations of the new interface. We’ve gone through this before, and every iteration brings pain and joy. USB-C would seem to have a lot to offer, but first we have to get over the hump of newness. USB-C is also a unifying and universal standard that doesn’t involve a single company acting as a licensing gatekeeper, the way Apple protects Lightning cables and adapters. The upside is compatibility, and thus lower costs and more options. But is USB-C a worthwhile shift for users? Well, all interfaces are compromises in one way or another, and Apple believes USB-C meets more customers’ needs, even as the new interface throws some people off a cliff.
In the pursuit of slimness, sleekness, and simplicity-the same goal that brought us Lightning-Apple has seemingly done with Thunderbolt what it once did with FireWire. Apple thinks that with all-day battery life and wireless capabilities, we just won’t need to connect our new MacBooks to much.
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